Positive discrimination. Adidas promised Tuesday that 30% of new hires in the United States will be black or of Latin American origin, against a background of anti-racist demonstrations throughout the country for almost 15 days.
"The events of the past 15 days have forced us all to think about what we can do to confront the cultural and systemic forces that fuel racism," said Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Adidas, in a statement.
Adidas announced the move, along with several others, on the day of the funeral for George Floyd, a black man asphyxiated by a white police officer while handcuffed. His death became a symbol of the fight against police brutality and racism against African Americans.
Adidas, cult brand of part of the black community
The three-band brand enjoys cult status in part of the black community - a recent documentary recalled that Michael Jordan would have liked to sign with Adidas before Nike made him immensely rich - but Adidas employees criticized him lately not to do enough to fight racial discrimination.
The German group also announced that it would increase to 20 million dollars, in the next 4 years, the amounts it devotes to support programs for the black community in the United States (a basketball program for communities disadvantaged, additional funds for the shoe design school or a program to support the black community through sport).
"We must and we will do better"
He also promised 50 scholarships for 50 of his black employees per year for the next 5 years. Finally like many companies in recent weeks, Adidas has promised to do better in the fight against racism.
“We understand that the fight against racism is a fight which must be waged without ceasing and actively. We must and we will do better, ”promises the company.
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VIDEO. Historic protests in the United States, two weeks after the death of George Floyd
Exceptionally, the person who manages Adidas's Twitter thread had even retweeted the anti-racist message from his rival Nike: "For once, Don't Do It ... Don't pretend that there is no problem in America ". He added: "Together we are moving forward. Together we are making a difference. "
Together is how we move forward.
Together is how we make change. https://t.co/U1nmvMhxB2
